Rainbow Guardians: Chapter 17

 Chapter 17: The Force Within

I was unaware of my identity. There was only a deafening silence with a radiant, blinding whiteness around. I scanned everywhere for a response and noticed a shadow. It was merely a dot within the light; I tried to poke, and it engulfed me, penetrating like a cling wrap. Suddenly, I was somewhere hourglass-shaped with black goo surrounding me. Then, I began to hear shrill weeps, cries and lamentations of people inside my mind. Some were familiar while most of them were alien voices. I recognised about four sounds which probably belonged to some men. The first one was like hysteric laughter; the second was filled with fury…Yes, fury. There was no other way of describing it. Just all frustration… The third one was only a murmuring as if attempting to pacify the first two. The last one was full of grief, almost mourning someone for what seemed like ages. It was him…He was uttering something like “Roxanne.” His tone was becoming arid, the words scorching his voice constantly. I managed to identify the other three voices. They were the Negavisian brothers: Prince Steven Hugo, King Galactica and my ancestor, Prince Alexander. Although they were deceased a millennium ago, their brawl seemed to proceed somehow. The noises, however, screeched in my poor brain. They became irritating, unbearable even, and my body could not take it. Later, it turned into another wave of sough; my consciousness fading into the blackness of oblivion. 

* * *

Alexander was floating in a gateway to his ancestral planet, Negavise. Prof. Lextrum aided him in teleporting between planets rather than using another spaceship or portal. The forces of Shadow Galactica had already blocked every transport route in the dimension. The only solution left was teleporting, but with the inconsistent core energy of Alex, it was jeopardous to try. On the other hand, he could be helpful according to Persephone's plans. No matter what could happen, extra power was handy for the operation. The presumable occurred to Alex as if reminding him of his buffer zone status. He was stuck between the road of the Earth and The Depths of Despair. Was it a trial or a twist of fate? Well, it is up to you to decide dear readers, but there is one thing certain. If he doesn’t wake up, I can assure you things will get more tangled than Rapunzel’s hair. 

* * *

Something was creaking in my chest… My medallion… It was glowing. I opened my eyes, and the world appeared albeit blurry. My lower body was stuck inside a black, heavy bog; it was nearing my elbows. I again glanced to understand my surroundings. I was in somewhere almost out of a horror tale. Everywhere was covered with a suffocating mist, and the sky was illuminated by blue or silver lightning storms every minute. The dark liquid beneath me continued to suck me in. It was beyond my shoulders now and was coming to my head. In a few minutes, I was under a sea of blackness. My nostrils and nasal passages burnt as if I had inhaled hydrochloride, the sensation becoming severe. ‘Darn it! I just got up. I won’t delve into slumber anytime sooner!’ I screamed in my mind. I gingerly moved my limbs to the surface, but the matter was condensed. With one last effort, I tried to focus on my elemental energies. My medallion had been gleaming; however, it blazed violet-green light after that. Instantly, I skyrocketed downwards, the goo disappearing, and I found myself in a massive vault. The floor was chequered with classical black and white marble. I wandered for a while. There were several old cells or artefacts with the spiral emblems. I was about to take another step but heard footsteps coming closer. I hid back on a wall and silently listened; they seemed to be in a hustle because their sounds were frantic. 

"Hurry up! Our Lord awaits you fools!" A woman yelled.

“Yes, Lady Helena!” A man replied.

"Ugh, how the heck did they enter our quarters? I can't get it!" Helena said to herself, facepalming. "I shouldn't have trusted that oozy-boozy stuff!"

“My lovely Helena…” A man purred, and she gasped.

“Milord! What are you doing here? You were supposed to be in the sanctuary.”

“Do you think I’m weak too?” The man chuckled sadly and whispered. “I can’t bear that from you also my thistle.”

“Hugo, you know our souls belong to each other with the oath of vengeance. However, I don’t want to lose you too.”

I took a peek; Lord Stephen and Helena got rather intimate. He had cradled her from behind, holding with an iron grasp, and she extended the left crook of her neck. While Hugo was raining her with kisses, a group of soldiers approached the quarter. They were carrying five limp female bodies in their arms. He signed them to leave the unconscious woman at his feet, still holding Helena. Lord Stephen stared at the view lying on the ground. The bodies were smudgy as if bathed in coal; some of their limbs were upturned and encrusted with gashes. All of a sudden, golden sheens dazzled my eye. As I blinked, I noticed that they were strands of hair. It was no ordinary one though because it seemed oddly familiar… I examined the body with blonde locks. Her face was framed with two sets of dishevelled bangs, and on her scalp, there were two stars. A blood-freezing realisation poured over me. Could it be her? No, oh the Almighty, please don’t… Nelly, my Scandinavian Nymph… Then, I scrutinised the rest of the females. There were ginger, and brunette ladies along with midnight and silver heads. It wasn't only Nelly but also her friends. Stephen Hugo left Helena and laughed manically, poking the broken parts of the bodies. "Humph! Look at them, Helena. You all were sourpusses about the security." His mimics indicated disdain. “However, the council laid their future right beneath my feet! They presented our victory on the silver tray!”

My blood began to boil with rage, and I smashed the wall I was hiding into ashes. My core energy began to radiate much brighter than before. I felt the power surging every inch of my being along with a breeze escalating my hair.

“You…” I growled when they recognised my presence. “You bastards!”

“Who the hell are you?” Stephen asked, smirking.

“Lord Hugo, please stay back!” Helena joined and activated her gun, shielding him. “I have a bad feeling about his aura!”

“My name doesn’t matter, but consider me an avenger!” I hissed and directed my fusion weapon at them. “Megavoid inferno!” I muttered. The words melted away from my mouth as an incantation or a prayer. “Velvet blossom!”

My attacks fused into one blast, hitting Hugo and his entourage. Their momentum began to slow down like a hibernating beast. Somehow, it managed to stop their actions, breaking the space/time. The ones that got rid of my first shot couldn’t escape my lilac marigolds. Their petals stormed around and sprayed a dense, unbearable odour. It was like gelatine flavoured with rotten eggs and dead fish. A few guards ran their lives as I glared at them. Gently, I kneeled near the bodies and built a barrier just in case. Despite my endeavours, this was a prison after all. The renegades could inform the rest of their team and trigger more trouble. I sat beside Nelly and took her head on my knee. She and her friends were deadbeat; however, they were breathing faintly. With the back of my gloved hand, I gingerly stroked Nelly’s cheek. I had to find a way out of this but how? How could a simpleton freak like me do that? I was with almost-corpses of five princesses of a freaking council. The worst thing was that this was the notorious Depths of despair… The most dangerous pocket dimension ever known! Even if I could manage to flee from this building, I had no idea to return to the home. Nevertheless, with the five almost-corpses!

At that moment, everything seemed bleak. The atmosphere around me started to become pitch-black, hindering my sight. In the darkness, the only thing glowed was my stupid medallion. It projected the image of Prince Alexander and Princess Juniper with the amulet. A few seconds later, it changed into my parents and Friggia. Then, a purple scripture of archaic language glowed in my eyes: The force is within.